Schools Sending More Kids To The Hospital

SALISBURY, Md. (AP) — Last year, children were handcuffed and sent to a hospital emergency room for a psychiatric evaluation at least 117 times from schools in Wicomico County, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The state law that allows for these removals is meant to be limited to people with severe mental illness, who are endangering their own lives or safety or someone else’s. But advocates say schools nationwide are using the practice in response to behaviors prompted by bullying or frustration over assignments. The ER trips, they say, often follow months, and sometimes years, of students’ needs not being met.